Double Bird kicks off tour at Turf Club with Voytek, Bird Sounds, and Puppies and Trains

​12-hour day at work, a full sweaty night of band practice, and I was dead on my feet last night, but with Double Bird kicking off their tour at the Turf Club, there was no way I was going to end my night early. Apparently a good number of other folks had the same idea, as the Turf had a good crowd on a Thursday night out to see the show with opening acts Voytek, Bird Sounds, and Puppies and Trains--one hell of a catchy local bill if there ever was one.

I am on record as being a Puppies And Trains enthusiast, so I was sad to find that I missed them. Featuring one half of Superhopper, they usually serve up a somewhat darker type of power-pop/indie rock than the band that spawned them. This night was apparently no exception, as plenty of people were more than happy to tell me when I asked what I'd missed.

Sharyn Morrow

​​Instead, I arrived towards the tail end of Bird Sounds, who I'd never seen before, and was pleasantly surprised. This stripped-down three piece served up some catchy pop songs with just a hint of an old psychedelic garage vibe.

Sharyn Morrow

​Voytek were next, stripped down, loud, raucous, and often hilarious. When applied to simple punk rock songs with a don't give-a-shit attitude, the word "snotty" doesn't do Voytek justice. One to two minute songs with titles like "Hot Cops" and "Dirty Baby" shot forward like a jack-knifing semi while still managing to be overflowing with catchy hooks, but at times the in-between banter was the real show, with vocalist Sam Girard making jokes about everyone in the room, including his brother Max behind the drums. "I'm glad I raised you well, little brother."

Sharyn Morrow

​Double Bird wrapped up the night with a spot-on set of their own hard rocking, hook-laden songs with bassist Pete Biasi and guitarist Dave Storberg splitting vocals fairly evenly. They were joined by Lazer Forever's Dustin Tessier, who's serving as their touring drummer since Ben Ivascu is unavailable. For this show, however, Dustin made the move up front to play second guitar while Ben killed the drums. The second guitar made a great addition, with a thicker sound and plenty of space for Dave's leads, and after a tight 30-minute set, Double Bird stepped off the stage just about as warmed up for a tour as a band could get.